Being able to talk with your doctor is important, especially if you have health problems or concerns.Use these TIPS to make the most of your doctor visit.Prepare for your visit.Be ready to ask three or four questions. Share your symptoms, medicines or vitamins, health habits, and any major life changes.Take notes or ask forwritten materials.Don’t… Continue reading 5 Ways to Make the Most of Your Doctor Visit
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Rashes: When to Go to The Doctor
To the untrained eye, all rashes may look alike and seem easily treatable with over-the-counter oral antihistamines or hydrocortisone cream. However, it is not always so simple, say dermatologists. Rashes can appear as blotches, welts, or blisters; they can be red, itchy, scaly, or dry; and they can occur in one area of skin or… Continue reading Rashes: When to Go to The Doctor
Sex after A Stroke
Stroke survivors often have difficulty with sex, and it can affect their lives beyond the bedroom. A new study offers fresh insight on the barriers – and how health care providers might help. Researchers interviewed 150 stroke patients at a medical center in Lima, Peru. According to a news release from the American Heart Association… Continue reading Sex after A Stroke
A Doctor’s Belief May Influence A Patient’s Response
How your health care provider interacts with you is important. Their style can shape how you feel about your treatment. A new study found that people experienced less pain when the treatment provider expected a pain reliever to work. This may have been due, in part, to the provider’s facial expressions. The findings were published… Continue reading A Doctor’s Belief May Influence A Patient’s Response
Some Medicines and Driving Don’t Mix
If you’re taking a medication, is it safe to drive? Most likely, yes. Still, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advises you to make sure before operating any type of vehicle, whether a car, bus, train, plane, or boat. Although most medications won’t affect your ability to drive, some prescription and nonprescription medicines can… Continue reading Some Medicines and Driving Don’t Mix
Talking with Your Doctor about Pain
Although pain is common, many people have a hard time describing it exactly to their doctor or nurse. But according to the National Institute on Aging (NIA), considering these questions and issues about pain can help you and your health care practitioner have the best possible treatment: These include: Where does it hurt? When did… Continue reading Talking with Your Doctor about Pain
Some Medicines and Driving Don’t Mix
If you’re taking a medication, is it safe to drive? Most likely, yes. Still, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advises you to make sure before operating any type of vehicle, whether a car, bus, train, plane, or boat. Although most medications won’t affect your ability to drive, some prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs… Continue reading Some Medicines and Driving Don’t Mix
Emergency Readiness for People with Alzheimer’s
People with Alzheimer’s disease can be especially vulnerable during disasters like severe weather, fires, floods, earthquakes, and other emergency situations. It is important for caregivers to have a disaster plan that includes the special needs of people with Alzheimer’s, whose impairments in memory and reasoning severely limit their ability to act appropriately in crises. The… Continue reading Emergency Readiness for People with Alzheimer’s
Tattoo Complications May Warrant A Trip to The Doctor
Research indicates that 10 percent of people with tattoos experience some sort of complication, such as pain or infection. While their first inclination may be to seek help from the artist who gave them their tattoo, it may be necessary to see a board-certified dermatologist for the proper diagnosis and treatment of skin problems, according… Continue reading Tattoo Complications May Warrant A Trip to The Doctor
The Truth About Genetic Testing and Medications
Wouldn’t it be great if you could find a link between your genetic makeup and which medicine is good for you? In some cases, you can; in other cases, it’s best not to take a test at all if the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hasn’t looked at it. There’s no doubt that genetic… Continue reading The Truth About Genetic Testing and Medications
Would You Record Your Doctor Visit?
Most people have never recorded a visit with their doctor, while 28 percent of doctors have done so for their patients, according to a new study. Healthcare researchers have speculated that with more than 75 percent of Americans owning a smartphone, the practice of recording a doctor visit is increasing. The study, from The Dartmouth… Continue reading Would You Record Your Doctor Visit?
How Much Health-Care Privacy Do You Have?
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) enforces the Federal privacy regulations commonly known as the HIPAA Privacy Rule (HIPAA). HIPAA requires most doctors, nurses, pharmacies, hospitals, nursing homes, and other health care providers to protect the privacy of your health information. Here, from HHS, is a list of common questions about HIPAA… Continue reading How Much Health-Care Privacy Do You Have?
What Should I Ask My Doctor During My Checkup?
Editor’s note: A visit to the doctor can be an intimidating and at times overwhelming experience, so it might be difficult to remember everything you’d like to ask your physician. Here, the experts from the National Institute on Aging share what questions you should ask, and how to ask them. You might want to read… Continue reading What Should I Ask My Doctor During My Checkup?
Got Diabetes? Take These Steps to Avoid Foot Problems
If you have diabetes and think you are otherwise healthy, it can be easy to ignore the doctor’s good advice. But that can catch up with you. One of the challenging complications of diabetes occurs when patients’ high blood sugar damages the blood vessels, which leads to poor blood circulation in the legs and feet.… Continue reading Got Diabetes? Take These Steps to Avoid Foot Problems
The Truths about Your Doctor You’ll Never See on TV
What makes a drug-addicted people-hating doctor with zero regard for laws so popular that millions of people chose to spend time with him every week? Who am I talking about? Gregory House, MD. For eight years, we loved every episode. One year, House was the most watched television show on the entire planet. The newest… Continue reading The Truths about Your Doctor You’ll Never See on TV
The Patient/Doctor Relationship Is Improving
Patients report an increased partnership with their physicians in making medical decisions, new research shows. The pattern represents a departure the previous pattern of all-knowing doctor and dutiful patient. Shared decision-making between patients and their clinicians increased 14 percent from 2002 to 2014, according to the study, done by Northwestern Medicine and Harvard University. The… Continue reading The Patient/Doctor Relationship Is Improving
Ten Tips for Effective Communication with Your Doctor
Like any healthy relationship, good communication is fundamental and that applies to the doctor-patient relationship as well. When that vital link of understanding is broken between doctor and patient, a cascade of negative consequences can result. If the patient hasn’t been able to fully explain his or her symptoms, an incorrect diagnosis might be made.… Continue reading Ten Tips for Effective Communication with Your Doctor
Preventing Prescription Drug Abuse
From the experts at SeniorHealth, a division of the National Institute on Aging, strategies on how to control potential drug abuse: Whether it’s prescription or illicit drugs, can have serious consequences, particularly for older adults. That is why prevention is key. However, there are many different reasons why people abuse drugs and become addicted to… Continue reading Preventing Prescription Drug Abuse